Update: Axis Bank ATM Hackers Operated from Hyderabad

UPDATE: Even as you're reading this, cops from the Oshiwara police station, located in suburban Mumbai claim to have traced the hackers to Hyderabad. Further reports suggest that not only did the hackers manage their entire hack operation from Hyderabad, but were also Nigerian nationals. Their exact location in Hyderabad hasn't been traced yet. Adding to these details, a report in the Mumbai Mirror also states that the usual modus operandi of such a scam would be either placing accomplices at banks and other call centres, or acquire a duplicate security strip, placed at the back of a debit card to get all personal debit card details. In what comes as a shocker to several Mumbaikars who quite routinely withdraw cash from the Axis Bank ATMs dotted across the city, it is being learnt that the security of the ATM systems of the bank have been compromised. According to a report in the Mumbai Mirror, the first set of complaints has been coming from Oshiwara, located in suburban Mumbai. The ATM in question located in Oshiwara incidentally happens to be at a stone’s throw distance from the Oshiwara Police Station. Exercising caution.. Over the month, the report stated that several irate customers began filing complaints after they realized that the money withdrawn by them from the ATM and the money, a much larger amount that got actually debited did not match. Apparently, the repeated complaints did not draw much action from the cops, initially but when one of the cops in the station itself (Asst. Inspector, Sanjay More) got duped, the cyber crime cell was called in.  According to a statement that a spokesperson from the bank provided to Mumbai Mirror, it was revealed that the ATM at Oshiwara wasn’t the lone one affected. Several other Axis Bank ATMs across the city are now being speculated to be among those affected. Although the mode, and any other specific details of the hack haven't come through, what is being spoken about, albeit in hushed tones is the use of an external device that records all details of a customers card on swiping. The bank has, as on August 1, 2011 filed an FIR with the Cyber Crime Cell.  With statistics being as worrying as the loss of over Rs. 8 lakh in less than a month, this news of the security being compromised has again raised the issue of lack of security present. Have you been affected by the hack? Do let us know in the comments section below.

Pictures: Six New Natural Landmarks Named

Lake Billy Chinook, Oregon

Kahlotus Prairie, Washington

Hanging Lake, Colorado

Barfoot Park, Arizona

Round Top Butte, Oregon

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Golden Fossil Areas, Colorado

Android 3.2 Heading for Motorola Xoom 3G

After the recent Android 3.1 update for the Wi-Fi version of the Xoom in India, it’s the 3G version’s turn. The Wi-Fi version has already received the 3.2 update in the West a while back, and now Verizon has posted details about the 3G version getting the update. The ‘soak test’ completed a few daysago, so we should be expecting the update to roll out any time now. There’s no official word on when this update will be hitting our shores yet, but we expect it to arrive soon.

3.2 update rolling out soon for the 3G version

Android 3.2 is the next incremental update to Honeycomb that brings with it a host of new features, as well as some much needed performance optimizations. Some of the major changes include ‘Media Sync from SD card’ that now lets apps directly access media from the SD card slot, if the tablet has one. The next one is ‘Compatibility zoom for fixed size apps’, which adds a new menu icon in the system bar for apps that are not designed for a larger screen. Finally, we have a bunch of general optimizations done for a wide range of tablets of different sizes. Google has also added some new APIs for developers to manage their apps better across different screen sizes. For the full change log, hit this link here.

MSI Announces Low Priced Tablets for India - ENJOYPAD 7 and 10

MSI’s WINPAD tablet running Windows 7 was unveiled last year Computex 2010 but never really made much of an impact on the Indian market. It does however appear, that they fully intend to launch their budget priced tablets viz. the ENJOYPAD 7 and 10 (not really the best name out there) for this market.   Low priced and ready to go The new Enjoy series of tablets feature a 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor and 512 Mb of RAM. This means new slim tablets will be running Android 2.3.3 aka Gingerbread out of the box. Perhaps Honeycomb would have required them to up the price. There's been no word on whether or not these devices will be upgradable to Honeycomb at some later date. The tablets will have Adobe Flash 10.1, support for better web browsing and feature display resolutions of 800 x 480 pixels for the 7-incher (16:9) and 1024 x 768 for the larger 10-inch device (4:3). Aside from that both tablets will be equipped with dual 2 megapixel cameras for video calling and images. Other features include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP. These ENJOYPAD tablets will come with 4GB of internal memory and support for microSD cards up to 32GB. MSI has stated that the battery life (4000mAh Lithium battery) on these devices have a target of 4-5 hours of usage. We can only confirm this after our own tests of course.    The tablets are priced at Rs. 14,999 for the ENJOYPAD 10 and Rs. 13,999 for the smaller ENJOYPAD 7. They can also be ordered online from http://in.msi.com/.

VisionMobile Report: Android Not a Very 'Open' Platform

One of the reasons for Android’s success is the belief that it’s an open operating system and people generally like that. A study done by VisionMobile, an analysis and research company states that Android isn’t the most open platform out there. VisionMobile has deviced a way to gauge the ‘openness’ of a software or platform and it turns out Android has an openness rating of just 23 percent. Eclipse, a software development toolset scores the best score of 84 percent followed by Linux at 71 per cent. Webkit, the rendering engine for Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome browser closely follow at 68 and 65 per cent respectively.

Android trails behind the rest

VisionMobile believes that openness of a software or code is not only to do with the license that it adheres to, but also to do with Governance. Governance is what decides the roadmap for the project, the transparency of the decision making process, whether the discussion on the development of the project is open to everyone and if anyone can choose to make variants of the project. VisionMobile believes that the most open of projects are likely to do well in the long run. The only odd one out is Android, which although popular, isn’t as open as some of the other platforms. VisionMobile says it wouldn’t have been as successful, if vendors hadn’t pumped in the money that made it a strong competitor to Apple’s iOS-based devices.

The Best Games of 2011 So Far...

We take a look at some of the most kickass games 2011 offered us so far.

September onward, gamers will be buried under an avalanche of high profile titles all the way to 2012. But before you prepare yourself (and your wallet) for this barrage, we suggest you finish off your backlog as 2011 had quite a few titles worth checking out. Today we list out ten of the best.    Crysis 2 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3) Tech2 Review: 8.5/10 Saving New York Crysis 2 may not have been the game to bring your uber powerful PC to its knees, but it sure was pretty. In fact, Crytek made the game highly scalable so even year-old PCs could enjoy Crytek’s version of post-apocalyptic New York in all its visual glory. The action, like its predecessor, was fast and satisfying, offering players a healthy blend of stealth and all out action. Sure, the painfully dumb AI did hamper gameplay a bit, but at the end of it all, lofty production values and solid gameplay across both single and multiplayer prevailed, making Crysis 2 a must-buy this year. Dead Space 2 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3) Tech2 Review: 10/10 No one can hear you scream in space Taking a gamble with new IPs in this day and age is a risky proposition, one that paid off real well for developer Visceral Games. Dead Space was a game that combined action and horror to near perfection, offering players a chilling ride, playing as an engineer forced to face his fears aboard a derelict ship. With the sequel, Visceral expanded upon what we loved about the first game, introducing some truly impressive set pieces along with a multiplayer mode reminiscent to the one from Left 4 Dead 2. Dirt 3 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3) Tech2 Review: 9/10 Getting DiRTy The Dirt series was Codemasters’ attempt to move from pure rally (the Colin McRae Rally series) to all-round off-road racing, which they did well in Dirt 2. But the fans still wanted rally, so in Dirt 3, it made a return and comprised 60% of the game, alongside the other event types from previous games. The responsive car handling, the well-designed tracks, the slick menus and the stunning EGO engine-powered visuals – all hallmarks of Codies games – were in evidence as well. The game also add split-screen racing and several fun online modes, making this one of the best off-road racing games ever. Fight Night Champion (Xbox 360, PS3) Tech2 Review: 8/10 Lights out The Fight Night series was struggling, and EA had to take drastic measures to keep it alive. Fight Night Champion gave the boxing franchise a new direction, and it couldn’t have done a better job of it. While the roster of pro boxers from earlier games remained, the main focus of the game was its new cinematic story mode that included slick cutscenes, great characters, an engaging story, and some very intense gameplay scenarios that constantly kept you on your toes. Throw in a little bit of bare-knuckled, no-hold-barred brawling, and this game had everything a fighting game fan could want. Infamous 2 (PS3) Tech2 Review: 9.5/10 The Last Guardian It’s hard to put a finger on what exactly makes Infamous 2 a great game, because many of its core elements are carried forward from the first game. There aren’t too many sweeping changes this time around, but it’s the little things that Sucker Punch has done that together combine to make this one of the most fun games of the year and one of the best open-world games in a long time. The new city of New Marais has a ton of character, the missions (and side missions) are well designed, and the morality system, however superficial, works brilliantly. Infamous 2 doesn’t exactly break new ground for the franchise, but when it’s this much fun, who cares!

Killzone 3 (PS3) Tech2 Review: 8/10 Go to Hell-ghan Killzone is one of the most popular first-party PS3 franchises; right up there with the likes of the God of War and Uncharted. After the success of Killzone 2, expectations for the next game were sky high, and Guerrilla Games didn’t disappoint. The explosive single-player campaign was packed with cinematic set pieces, massive bosses, large, varied environments, and lots and lots of intense FPS action. Of course, multiplayer is a massive draw in Killzone games too, and the developers rebuilt the multiplayer from the ground up, addressing the issues from Killzone 2 and adding more features and brand new maps, while keeping the signature Killzone experience intact. L.A. Noire (Xbox 360, PS3) Tech2 Review: 8.5/10 It's a hard knock life In what can be described as a radical departure for Rockstar Games, L.A. Noire was a story-driven whodunit, where players spent their time solving cases as opposed to embarking upon killing sprees across urban America. The star of the show, without a doubt, was the game’s wicked facial animation system that tied into gameplay, allowing players to catch lying suspects based on their facial reactions during interrogations. The game was initially released on consoles, but PC gamers will also be able to have a go at it when Rockstar brings L.A. Noire to PCs later this year. LittleBigPlanet 2 (PS3) Tech2 Review: 10/10 Awwwwwwww What started out as a cutsey little platfromer, became a whole different beast with LittleBigPlanet 2. While the first game gave players powerful tools to create and share their own levels, this time around, you can create whole new games of any genre within LBP2 itself, complete with cinematics, characters and narratives. These creation tools were also put to brilliant use by the developers themselves for Sackboy’s new story mode adventure, which as before, can be played solo or by up to four players in co-op. LBP2 is great for all ages, but don’t let the cute art style fool you; it’s a game that’ll challenge even the most seasoned gamers. Portal 2 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3) Tech2 Review: 9.5/10 Two to portal Portal 2 was a tiny little game bundled with The Orange Box that garnered cult status thanks to its sharp writing, sarcastic humor and innovative gameplay. For the sequel, Valve turned it up to 11, with a fully fleshed out single player campaign as well as a separate and equally awesome co-operative campaign, in addition to some of the best voice acting we’ve come across all year. Portal 2 was also used to launch Valve’s online service, Steam, on the PS3, allowing cross-play between Portal 2 owners on PS3 and PC. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (PC) Tech2 Review: 8.5/10 Don't mess with Geralt You probably wouldn’t expect a stellar RPG from a relatively unknown Polish developer, but you’d be wrong. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings greatly improved upon all aspects of gameplay laid down by its predecessor. You had gorgeous visuals, improved combat, and a riveting story that sucked you in till the very end. Be warned though; the game is not very noob-friendly and can appear pretty intimidating (even on normal difficulty) with its erratic difficulty and steep learning curve. But if you’re the patient type, there’s a vibrant, dangerous and exciting world ripe for exploration.

3D Box Office Revenue More than Doubled in 2010

According to a study done by iSuppli, the global box-office revenue for 3D movies in 2010 more than doubled to $6.1 billion, up from $2.5 billion generated in 2009. The 3D format launched in 2005. The international market accounted for $3.9 billion, or 63.9 percent of the market, up from 53.8 percent in 2009. The rest of the 3D movie market, or 36.1 percent is represented by North America, including the United States and Canada. The surge in international 3D box office revenue was almost threefold, up from $1.4 billion in 2009, driven by a corresponding hike in investment of digital 3D technology by key international exhibitors, in tandem with the influx in new 3D movie releases.

3D surged in cinema last year

More than 30,000 3D screens now exist in the world as of June 2011, more than double the number at the same point last year; at least one in four of the world’s screens are now 3D-capable. The global market still is dominated by U.S. products, which accounted for more than 90 percent of revenues coming from international 3D screens.

Teen Model Kate Upton poses in Lingerie again – Very Hot Photos

for more click here 

Kate Upton for Sports Illustrated 2011 – Very Big Boobs – 18+ – NSFW

Researchers Create Smallest Battery Ever Made

A team of scientists has created a battery so small that it fits into a "nanowire," a wire whose thickness is less than the wavelength of visible light. It's the smallest battery ever made, and it could end up powering a whole generation of nanotechnology.

The potential of nanotechnology—the practice of building machines so small that they can't even be seen—has been talked about for decades. In medicine, for example, the idea of creating tiny robots that could enter a person's bloodstream and target intruders or diseased cells has been touted as one of the most promising applications of the field, but it's remained purely theoretical.

One of the hurdles standing in the way of such wondrous nanodevices is their power supplies—making batteries at such a tiny scale is difficult. Now a team of engineers from Rice University appears to have solved that problem by creating a battery just 50 microns, or about the thickness of a human hair.

To create the battery (see the diagrom below), the researchers first coated a nanowire template with a thin layer of copper. They then filled the pores (which create the individual nanowires) halfway with a nickel/tin alloy to create the anodes. At this point, they put on a thin layer of polyethylene-oxide gel, which acts as both an electrolyte and an insulator from the other nanowires. Next they filled the remainder of the pore with a polyaniline material to create the cathodes. A layer of aluminium goes on top to complete the circuit.

Every nanowire is just 150 nanometers (nm) thin. To put that in perspective, the lowest wavelength of visible light is about 400 nm. However, the complete battery is about 50 microns tall, or about the width of human hair. The researchers ended up creating an array of nanowire batteries that was about 0.08 square inches in area, though it's theoretically scalable to even larger sizes.

With a larger array that includes several layers stacked on top of each other, the tech could theoretically lead to batteries with massive energy density. And since the electrochemical materials don't contain lithium, they're easy to synthesize and manipulate at room temperature.

The nanowire batteries aren't without their limitations, however. After being charged and discharged 20 times, they lose their ability to hold a full charge. The researchers are working on addressing this limitation, however, by playing with the polymer thickness and trying out different kinds of electrodes.

Although it's in the early stages, the new battery technology could help usher in an era of practical nanomachines. With a real microscopic power source, the science-fiction scenario of tiny machines acting as doctors, builders, and explorers just took a step toward reality.

For more from Peter, follow him on Twitter @petepachal.